2022 Lobo Softball Schedule Set with 19 Home Games
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The 2022 New Mexico Lobo softball schedule has been set and features plenty of opportunities for Lobo fans to watch their Lobos at home, or on the road.
“Our schedule is challenging but should allow us to gain confidence and momentum as we head into conference,” notes head softball coach Paula Congleton. “We play some tough games early on but that will tell us what we need to work on and will get us ready for the conference battles we will face.”
In total, the Lobos will have 19 home games in 2022, starting with a home tournament on Feb. 24 and closing out the regular season at home against San Diego State on May 14.
UNM will face three NCAA Tournament participants from a year ago in Arizona, Alabama and BYU and four Power 5 schools (Oregon State, Arizona, Alabama and Wisconsin) in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and has renewed the in-state rivalry series with New Mexico State with three games planned between the Lobos and Aggies.
Besides the Lobo Classic, New Mexico will play in four tournaments that will take the Lobos to Arizona, California, Utah and Texas.
The Lobos will open the season at Arizona for the second-straight year in the inaugural Candrea Classic. UNM will start the season against Oregon State, followed by Southern Utah, Alabama and Arizona. A late amendment to the schedule, the Lobos build into their schedule two teams that competed in the Women’s College World Series last season in Alabama and Arizona, and have played each of the four teams in the Tucson tournament at some point in the last three years.
UNM then travels to Lamar and Beaumont, Texas to face Creighton, Lamar and Ohio, before hosting the Lobo Classic from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27 to open its home schedule.
The Lobo Classic will feature 13 games and five teams throughout four days, with the Lobos hosting Buffalo, North Dakota State, UTEP and Tarleton State.
The classic will start on Thursday, Feb. 24 with the Lobos playing a doubleheader with UTEP. On Friday, UNM will play North Dakota State at 5:30 p.m. to close out the four-game day. UNM will again have just one game on Saturday, closing out the day with Buffalo at 5:30 p.m. before closing the classic with Tarleton State on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
New Mexico heads back on the road for the South Coast Invitational hosted by UCSB from March 3 to March 5 and will play UCSB, Wagner and Santa Clara before hosting New Mexico State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 8 with the first game starting at 2 p.m.
The Lobos close out the tournament portion of their schedule at Dixie State and will play five games against Southern Utah, Dixie State, Maine and Wisconsin (twice) in three days.
Mountain West conference play opens March 18 on the road at San José State with the conference schedule formatted for a three-day, three-game series.
UNM will travel to Las Cruces for a mid-week game against the Aggies before resuming conference competition with the Utah State Aggies at home. The Lobos close out their non-conference schedule with a three-game series at BYU, playing a doubleheader on March 31 and a final game on April 1.
The trend for the MW schedule will be alternating home and away series each weekend, traveling to Colorado State, hosting Fresno State, traveling to Nevada, hosting UNLV, traveling to Boise State and hosting San Diego State to close out the regular season.
UNM brings back a nucleus of starters in each position group and have added transfers and freshmen that provide flexibility and depth at nearly every position.
Andrea Howard and Taryn Young return for their fifth seasons to anchor the outfield with Peyton Robinson having veteran experience and the trio covering the outfield together often last season. In the infield, the Lobos will have to replace Cameryn O’Grady at the shortstop position, but will have flexibility with the versatility of the returners and newcomers, able to play multiple positions.
“The returners came back stronger and more focused than ever before, which created a positive and disciplined environment for our incoming freshmen,” the fifth-year head coach noted.
“We have a lot of flexibility with this team. If we move one or two players, it doesn’t matter- the team is flexible and confident in everyone’s ability to play multiple positions. We have depth within the roster and that’s exciting. Our pitching staff has worked really hard this fall with new insight and a wealth of coaching experience as a pitching coach Mike Forsythe has made a huge impact with our pitchers. We have variety with spin, speed, a lefty.”
When it comes to the battery, Sydney Broderick provides the most experience at the catcher spot after returning for her fifth year, with the addition of another veteran in senior Janae Cameron in the offseason. The Lobos will have three more options in returner Leslie Romero and two freshmen who will be able to learn and develop behind the plate. The Lobos also became stronger in the circle with the transfers of Amber Linton and Samantha Fohrman to go with returners Emma Guindon, Ashlyn Roberts and Briana Sanchez. The Lobos also added a freshman in McKenna Kostyszyn, ultimately providing the most versatility and depth in Congleton’s time at UNM.
“We have depth, talent and a schedule that allows us to continue to improve throughout the season,” concludes Congleton. “We are excited about our 2022 team and schedule and can’t wait to get in front of our Lobo fans.”
TICKETS: Lobo fans can attend every home game with the Lobo Pride Pass, which costs $50 and includes attendance for all home softball, baseball and track and field events.